Joseph Beldam
(26 December 1795—6 June 1866) was an English writer, historian and advocate of the abolishment of slavery.Beldam was born at shepeth Hall (Cambridgeshire), son of William Beldam and (née Woodham), and died at Banyers, Royston (Hertfordshire) and is buried in the family vault at Royston Church. He studied at St Peter's College, University of Cambridge,
graduating on 9 October 1818, having entered the Middle Temple on 22 January 1818 to study Law. In his initial appointment to the Bar in 1825, he worked the Norfolk Circuit but had to retire due to poor health.
He then established a practice at the Old Palace Court, Royston. He subsequently resigned his practice so that he could devote his time to the abolitionist movement, with which he first became involved in 1826, joining the Anti-Slavery Society in London in 1827. It was his publication of an open letter to
Lord Dacre in that year that first brought him recognition for his anti-slavery work,. He subsequently became the editor or author of a majority of the Anti-Slavery Society's publications (generally anonymously) and, following the passing of the Emancipation Act in 1833, his legal expertise allowed him to become the official counsel for the society. After this final liberation of slaves in the British colonies, Beldam became involved in international efforts to end slavery everywhere. In later life, he turned to antiquarian pursuits, re-investigating the medieval Royston Cave in 1852 with his friend Edmund Nunn (curator of Royston Museum). He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London on 1 May 1856 for his historical and archaeological researches..
Beldam's Publications
•Il Pastore Incantato, or, The Enchanted Shepherd; A Drama: Pompeii, and other poems. London: Hurst, Robinson & Co (1824); credited to "A student of the Temple"
•Reflections on Slavery: in Reply to Certain Passages of a Speech Recently Delivered by Mr. Canning. Addressed to the Right Hon. Lord Dacre. (1826)
•A Summary of the Laws Peculiarly Affecting Protestant Dissenters. With an Appendix, containing Acts of Parliament, Trust Deeds, and Legal Forms. London: Joseph Butterworth (1827)
•The Permanent Laws of the Emancipated colonies. (1838)
•The Foreign Slave Trade. A Brief Account of its State, and of Treaties Thereto, Continued to the Present Time. London: John Hatchard & Son (1838)
•A Review of the Late Proposed Measure for the Reduction of Duties on Sugar. (1841)
•Recollections of Scenes and Institutions in Italy and the East. 2 volumes. London: Madden & Co. (1851)
•Royston Court House and its Appearances. (1863)
•The Icenhilde Road. Archaeol J 25, 21-45
•On the Origins and Use of the Royston Cave. Royston: John Warren (1884)
